LOGAN — The Utah Highway Patrol has released dash-cam video and the arrest report of former Manua Police Chief Shane Zilles. The 49-year-old Wellsville man was pulled over on US-89/91 near the mouth of Sardine Canyon after a trooper witnessed him speeding and driving erratically in his patrol car.

The citation report states that Zilles was seen driving northbound in the median, around 5 p.m. on January 29. He was travelling between 85-90 mph in the 65 mph zone.

The redacted video shows trooper Kent Goodrich pull the silver Dodge Charger over near milepost 18. As Goodrich walked up to the vehicle’s driver’s side, he recognized Zilles behind the wheel and asked if he was okay.

The arrest report states that Zilles’ speech was slurred and mumbling. He told trooper Goodrich that he was “headed to his office,” even though he was driving in the opposite direction of Mantua.

The video later shows Zilles performing field sobriety tests near the UDOT sheds. Trooper Goodrich has difficulty administering the gaze test because Zilles’ eyes are barely open but his pupils are enlarged.

During the walk and turn test, Zilles loses his balance and stumbles to the side while given instructions. He appeared to have difficulty staying balanced as he walked and following trooper Goodrich’s instructions.

The video goes silent for about a minute while Zilles is speaking. A blood alcohol breath test was conducted and came back negative, meaning no alcohol was detected. The report indicates he later admitted, though, to taking some medication earlier in the day.

Just before being arrested, the video shows trooper Goodrich asking Zilles a few more questions like what day it was. He replied that it was Sunday or Monday, but it was actually Tuesday.

Zilles continued to cooperate and was taken to a hospital for a blood draw. Afterwards, he began to experience a “medical condition” and received further treatment. Details of what happened at the hospital have also been redacted. While there, though, he was cited and released to a family member.

Zilles was charged in Wellsville Justice Court with DUI and reckless driving, both misdemeanors. The charges were filed on February 8.

After his arrest, Mantua Mayor Michael Johnson announced Zilles had been fired.

Johnson said in the statement, “We also hope that Mr. Zilles can work his way through this tough time and find a better path in the future. It appears that prescription meds have claimed another good person’s reputation.”

Zilles had been chief of police in Mantua since 2016. Prior to his appointment, he served as a deputy for the Cache County Sheriff’s Office, where he was named deputy of the year in 2015.

will@cvradio.com

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!

There is a typo on “blood alcohol breath test”. The test administered on site was a portable breath test “PBT”, which showed negative for presence of alcohol. A blood draw was run at the hospital, and the results are unlikely to be publicly disclosed. The lab results would also not yet be back from the state crime lab.

It’s unfortunate that law enforcement continues to cut out information just as they did when asking him questions about what medications he was abusing. Until they become fully transparent, their never worth trusting.